College Football Playoffs 2016: Ratings for Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl Revealed

The College Football Playoff committee raised some eyebrows when it moved the semifinals from New Year's Day to New Year's Eve. That risk didn't pay off from a ratings perspective.

According to John Ourand of SportsBusiness Journal, the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl drew ratings of 9.9 and 9.7, respectively, down significantly from last season:

While Clemson beating Oklahoma 37-17 in the Orange Bowl and Alabama rolling over Michigan State 38-0 in the Cotton Bowl may have played a role in the lower ratings, the fact that most people are busy on New Year's Eve was likely the biggest contributing factor.

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports agreed with that assessment:

As Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated reported in July, that conflict is something ESPN vice president of programming and acquisitions Ilan Ben-Hanan hoped to avoid:

"

We approached the CFP with a one-year change—and really a one-year-only opportunity—because of a complete quirk in the calendar. With Saturday being a traditional college football day, we thought it could be a great one-time opportunity to have the semifinals fall on Jan. 2. You would have the Rose and Sugar and Fiesta [bowls] on Jan. 1 as it already is scheduled and then you would move what is the current New Year's Eve schedule to Jan. 2. We approached the CFP with [the idea], the CFP vetted it and they decided to stick with the regularly scheduled calendar, which is fine, and we move forward.

"

One can only assume ESPN's proposal would have resulted in higher ratings, but the stage is still set for the college football season to go out with a bang in the coming weeks.

The CFP figures should rebound on Jan. 11 when No. 1 Clemson and No. 2 Alabama clash in the national championship game. The Tigers will be looking to become the first-ever 15-0 FBS team, while the Crimson Tide will be playing for their third title in five years.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.